Ayesha Curry talks about her new restaurant,...

1of7Ayesha Curry (left) partners with Michael Mina (right) on new restaurant called International Smoke which will replace RN74 seen on Thursday, May 4, 2017, in San Francisco, Calif.Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

2of7Bar at International SmokePhoto: San Francisco Chronicle

3of7Interior of International SmokePhoto: San Francisco Chronicle

4of7Graffiti designs on the wall at International Smoke.Photo: San Francisco Chronicle =

5of7Food at the pre-launch event for Ayesha Curry's International Smoke.Photo: San Francisco Chronicle

6of7The red carpet outside of Ayesha Curry's pre-launch party for International Smoke. From left to right: Michael Mina, Carol Alexander, Ayesha Curry, John Alexander.Photo: San Francisco Chronicle

7of7The Mission Street entrance to RN74 in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, September 18, 2017. The famed restaurant will serve its final meal on October 7th to make way for Ayesha Curry's new restaurant, International Smoke.Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

Ayesha Curry and Michael Mina’s ode to all things barbecue, International Smoke, officially opens today in Mina’s former RN74 space.

It’s the first Bay Area brick-and-mortar for the budding culinary superstar and easily one of the city’s more anticipated restaurant debuts of 2017.

Inside Scoop had a chance to speak with Curry before International Smoke doled out its first rack of ribs to the general public. Here’s what the newly-minted San Francisco restaurateur had to say about her new project:

1. Ayesha Curry on picking the soundtrack for International Smoke: “My thought process with the music was just ‘vibes.’ I wanted people to come and hear any song and think ‘Oh, I love that song.’ There’s going to be some Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder. You might hear French Montana. But the first song I had to put on the list was Sade’s ‘The Sweetest Taboo.’”

2. On what it will like to open the doors for the first time: “I’m going to cry Monday for sure. I think I was holding back and keeping myself from doing it. This is a dream, come true for me. Well, let me say this instead: this was a dream I never thought I could have but now it’s come true. To the tenth power.”

3. On her role in the pre-opening process: “I was in the restaurant sometimes even when they didn’t want or need me there. Sometimes I’ll just stand in the kitchen and observe it all. You have to remember, I’m still learning all of this.”

4. On what it’s like being in the restaurant business: “I’m excited. They talk about getting bit by the hospitality bug. I’ve been bit like 15 million times. I love every second of this. I love it all. And we have a team that with me, is so patient and they’re all so hard working.”

5. On how her family is taking this: “My parents are relaxed about all this. They weren’t stressing about anything. They’re happy but they’re just laid back about it.”

International Smoke: 301 Mission St.; Dinner service from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Lunch service will come at a later date

Justin Phillips joined the San Francisco Chronicle in November 2016 as a food writer. He previously served as the City, Industry, and Gaming reporter for the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He extensively covered the growth and transformation of Southwest Louisiana’s multibillion dollar energy sector. Justin also served as a columnist for the American Press where he won a Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Media Editors award for his weekly food column. In the past, Justin spent time working in the newsrooms of the Contra Costa Times, the Tri Valley Herald, and the Oakland Tribune. He studied journalism at Louisiana Tech University.